List of names in English with counterintuitive pronunciations

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This is a set of lists of English personal and place names whose pronunciations are counterintuitive to their spelling, either because the pronunciation does not correspond to the spelling, or because a better-known namesake has a markedly different pronunciation.

Excluded are the numerous spellings which fail to make the pronunciation obvious without actually being at odds with it: for example, the pronunciation /skəˈnɛktədi/ of Schenectady is non-intuitive but not counter-intuitive.

Boise, Idaho — /ˈbɔɪsi/ (this is the standard local pronunciation, but most Americans, especially those far removed from Idaho, pronounce it /ˈbɔɪzi/)

Boise City, Oklahoma — The "Boise" in this place name is locally pronounced /ˈbɔɪs/[8], which is different from either pronunciation of the name of the Idaho city. The "s" sound generally merges with the same sound in "City."